Shipping labels are typically affixed to parcels to enable a carrier to deliver the parcel to the correct consignee. A shipping label usually includes a consignor information field, a consignee information field, and some machine-readable indicia, such as a bar code. The carrier typically includes the machine-readable indicia to facilitate routing and tracking of the parcel as it passes through the carrier network. During transit, the carrier network may scan the machine-readable indicia as the parcel passes through each node in the distribution network. The carrier may provide status updates to both the consignor and the consignee tracking the parcel as the parcel moves through the carrier network.
When delivering the parcel, the delivery person typically employs an indicia scanning device to scan the machine-readable indicia. The delivery person may then prompt the recipient of the package to sign for the parcel (often by requiring the recipient to provide a digital signature via the indicia scanning device) and thereby confirm receipt of the parcel. While carriers typically prefer that the recipient sign for the parcel, the carrier may not require a signature from the recipient of the parcel. Moreover, the carrier may not require that the consignee even be present and may deliver the parcel without interaction with the consignee or any other person at the consignee's premises.
Although the carrier may permit parcels to be delivered without interaction with the consignee, ideally carriers prefer that the consignee be present so that the carrier can confirm that the consignee is an authorized recipient of the parcel. Signatures may provide the carrier with proof of delivery, but signatures alone are often not sufficient to confirm that the recipient is the consignee identified by the shipping label (or, in other words, what may be referred to as an “authorized recipient”). Thus, some carriers may require that the recipient of the parcel provide a government issued identification document, e.g., a driver's license, so that the carrier may authenticate the recipient as an authorized recipient of the parcel and verify that the parcel was delivered to the consignee identified by the shipping label and not any other recipient. Yet, requiring such identification documents is time consuming, especially when a single delivery person is expected to deliver hundreds of, if not more, parcels on any given day.